Mandarin

With a trip to Florida next week, John and I decided to stay close to home over the holiday weekend. We woke up early on Friday morning and made our favorite breakfast–avocado toast with poached eggs and roasted fingerlings. Then we settled in with our laptops, to-do lists, editorial calendars and arrangements for a productive weekday off. After a few hours, we pulled on sweaters for a stroll down to our local co-op for supplies, then stopped in to Trouble for chais, the perfect thing to whet our appetites for Indian food! Since San Francisco has been foggy for each of the last 6 Independence Days I've celebrated here, we chose to skip the crazy lines at Gotts and the pinkish haze over the Bay in favor of our usual Friday night routine and the neighborhood fireworks display. After dinner, we headed home and practically straight up to the roof; a few of our neighbors shell out each year for a fantastic firework show that lasts nearly 30 minutes. Bundled in our winter coats and sweaters, we giggled about the absurdness of summer in San Francisco while oohing and aahing over Peony, Chrysanthemum and Palm pyrotechnics. 

John was up early on Saturday morning for a run, and woke me up with poached eggs over cheese grits. After a bit of reading in bed, we both pulled out our to-to lists and got to work. While John perfected his arrangement of "Here Comes the Bride", I poured over weddings, planned features and gathered inspiration. Eventually John headed out to play his first wedding of the 2014 season, while I took advantage of having the house to myself with trashy TV, exercise, a bubble bath and a facial. By the time John got home that night I was scrubbed and smiling, and we made a simple supper of potato tacos before curling up with Studio 54, a film neither of us had ever seen.

 I had convinced John to sleep in a bit on Sunday, and he happily complied. Eventually though, his appetite rousted him and we had a simple breakfast of fresh fruit, toast and coffee. Naturally, we both curled up with our respective projects–John on some arrangements, me with JSTOR articles and research–and spent the morning and early afternoon working in peaceful accord. After quickly cleaning house, we agreed to go on a stroll, which turned into a impromptu bike ride through Golden Gate Park. It was the perfect way to while away a Sunday afternoon, and we made it home a few hours later feeling much restored. We threw together a big green salad for supper while watching a bizarre documentary, The Source Family (I guess we were on a 70s theme this weekend?), then retired to our books and papers to squeeze a few more productive hours. Eventually though, we both tumbled into bed to share a glass of rosé and an episode of Fraiser before bed. Perhaps not the typical 4th of July fête, but a wonderful weekend just the same!


Tell me, what were you up to this weekend? Did you get away to a fabulous little lake cottage, visit your old stomping grounds or enjoy having the city all to yourself, perhaps?

Image by Avec L'amour Photography, bouquet by Vo Floral Design.